Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A MINI SHRUB SPARER
FIELD
This invention relates to a mini shrub spader for
unearthing and transporting trees or shrubs.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The ability to easily and quickly unearth and
transport shrubs and trees is essential to success in the
nursery industry. Typically, the devices used to unearth
shrubs and trees are large and complex, making them
difficult to maneuver in the tight spacing between rows of
nursery plants. These large devices are further flawed in
that they often do not shape the root ball and may damage
the roots and/or trunk resulting in plant mortality.
Moreover, once unearthed, typically the plants must be
manually transferred to another device to be transported to
their ultimate destination.
U.S. Patent No. 2,770,076 issued November 13, 1956 to
Kluckhohn discloses an apparatus for removing and
transporting trees comprising a U-shaped cutter mounted
onto a front-end loader or similar machine. To remove and
transport a tree, the U-shaped cutter is submerged into the
earth some distance from the target tree. The U-shaped
cutter is advanced towards the target tree until it is
directly under the target tree. At this point the boom of
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the front-end loader, or similar machine, is raised
vertically and the target tree, together with the dirt
surrounding the roots, is removed from the ground. Due to
the size of the apparatus disclosed by Kluckhohn and its
method of operation, this apparatus is impractical for use
in a nursery. Further, the apparatus disclosed by
Kluckhohn does not shape the root ball of the unearthed
tree or shrub requiring additional labour and expense. The
Kluckhohn device also does not cut through all of the roots
resulting in tearing of uncut roots when the target tree is
lifted, thus damaging the roots.
U.S. Patent No. 4,979,321 issued December 25, 1990 to
Hall discloses a tree excavator comprising an excavator
scoop mounted on the articulating crane arm of a truck.
The excavator scoop comprises a plurality of curved
segments mounted for movement between a nested position and
a deployed position. Again, the size of the tree excavator
disclosed by Hall makes it impractical to use within the
tight row spacing of a typical nursery.
U.S. Patent No. 5,133,268 issued July 28, 1992 to
Delisle discloses a tree scooper mounted to the standard
hydraulically articulated beam of a tractor by way of an H-
mount. The tree scooper comprises a scoop with a shovel
shaped bottom and two sides. The leading edge of the scoop
has angled teeth. The movement of the scoop is powered by
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four hydraulic cylinders; two hydraulic cylinders mounted
internally within the H-mount and two hydraulic cylinders
mounted with one on each side of the scoop. To unearth a
tree or shrub, the tree scooper combines a rotating and
back-sliding action to allow the scoop to travel in a semi-
circular path under a tree or shrub. The moderately sized
tractor with a standard hydraulically articulated beam
required to mount the tree scooper disclosed by Delisle
limits the tree scooper's mobility and practicality in the
narrow aisles of a nursery. Delisle's tree scooper also
suffers from the inability to transport a tree or shrub
once unearthed thereby requiring additional time, effort
and expense. Moreover, the operation of the tree scooper
disclosed by Delisle is complex requiring the user to
coordinate the sliding and rotating actions of the tree
scooper in order to achieve a satisfactory result.
U.S. Patent No. 5,762,146 issued June 9, 1998 to
Andrews discloses a nursery plant digger designed to remove
plants, grown in long parallel rows, from the soil and to
remove the soil from the roots. The nursery plants digger
comprises a horizontally aligned bar mounted to the rear of
a tractor and having a U-shaped scoop mounted to the distal
end of the bar. The scoop travels through the soil,
slightly under the plant, thereby lifting the plant from
the soil. The uprooted plants are transferred to a shaking
grate located behind the scoop which shakes the soil free
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from the roots. The plants are then deposited in the field
for easy pickup. The nursery plant digger disclosed by
Andrews can not transport the plants once unearthed.
Further, Andrews' device removes the soil from the roots of
the plants making it inappropriate for use with trees or
shrubs that require the root ball remain intact.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to
provide a mini shrub spader capable of unearthing, shaping
the root ball of, and transporting a tree or shrub
relatively easily and quickly within a nursery environment.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a
mini shrub spader which is light in weight and compact in
design.
SUN~ARY OF THE INVENTION
The mini shrub spader of this invention is constructed
of a steel frame which houses the hydraulic systems. The
frame is H-shaped having a basketed U-blade pivotally
secured to the front of the frame. The U-blade is actuated
through two hydraulic cylinders mounted on the top of the
frame. The rear of the frame has a three-point hitch to
allow the mini shrub spader to be secured to a small
tractor or similar towing device. The hydraulic systems of
the mini shrub spader are powered through either the
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external hydraulics or the power transfer outlet of the
towing vehicle.
To operate the mini shrub spader to unearth a tree or
shrub, first, the basketed U-blade is placed in the pre-
digging position adjacent to the target plant to be dug.
The basketed U-blade then moves in a semi-circular path,
cutting under the target plant and through the bottom
portion of its roots, digging it up, shaping the root ball
and supporting the target plant, and its root ball, in the
basket of the basketed U-blade.
The basketed U-blade of the mini shrub spader may be
interchanged with basketed U-blades of various sizes and
shapes corresponding to the size and species of plant to be
unearthed and transported.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will
become clear from the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment, which is presented by way of
illustration only and without limiting the scope of the
invention to the details thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention itself both as to organization and
method of operation, as well as additional objects and
advantages thereof, will become readily apparent from the
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following detailed description when read in connection with
the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the mini shrub spader
with the basketed U-blade in the post-digging/transporting
position;
Fig. 2 is a side view of the mini shrub spader with
the basketed U-blade in the pre-digging position; and
Fig. 3 is a side view of the mini spader with the
basketed U-blade in the post-digging/transporting position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Throughout the figures, like elements are indicated by
like reference numbers. Referring to Fig. 1, the mini
shrub spader 10 includes an H-shaped frame 12 which houses
the hydraulic systems 32. Frame 12 is comprised of two
parallel frame members 14 and a cross member 16 located
between and secured firmly to the frame members 14.
Slidably and pivotally mounted to the outside of the frame
members 14 are the support legs 24.
The basketed U-blade 18 is pivotally mounted onto the
front of frame 12 through pivot 50. The basketed U-blade
18 is comprised of a basket 20 comprising a set of parallel
arcuate ribs attached at one end to a rear of a U-shaped
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blade 22. The leading edge of the blade 22 is sharpened to
efficiently cut through the ground under the target plant.
The basketed U-blade 18 is operatively coupled to
hydraulic cylinders 26 through elbows 28. At one end,
elbows 28 are pivotally coupled to the basketed U-blade 18
at pivots 52 and at the other end, secured to hydraulic
cylinders 26. The ends of hydraulic cylinders 26 that are
not secured to elbows 28 are pivotally coupled to cylinder
mounts 34. Hydraulic cylinders 26 are powered by hydraulic
systems 32 which are operatively coupled to a power
transfer outlet or external hydraulics of a towing vehicle
(not shown) through power transfer conduit 30 (see Fig. 2).
Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, mounted at the rear of the
frame 12 on the underside of frame members 12 are the
mounting members 48 with hitch mounts 42. A back plate 36
is mounted onto the rear of the frame 12. Secured to the
top of the back plate 36 is the hitch bracket 40. The
combination of the hitch bracket 40 and the hitch mounts
42, forms a three-point hitch 38 allowing the mini shrub
spader 10 to be mounted onto the rear of a tractor or
similar towing vehicle.
In operation, the mini shrub spader 10 is secured to
the rear of a tractor or similar towing device through the
three-point hitch 38. With the basketed U-blade 18 in the
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pre-digging position, the towing vehicle is used to
position the mini shrub spader 10 adjacent to the target
tree or shrub such that the trunk of the target tree or
shrub is aligned centrally between the blade pivots 50.
Once in position, through control lever 46, the hydraulic
cylinders 26 are actuated and the basketed U-blade 18 moves
in a semi-circular path, cutting under the tree or shrub,
and digging it up until the basketed U-blade 18 reaches the
post-digging position (see Fig. 3). The basketed U-blade
18 is designed such that the forward portion of the basket
follows the path of the blade 22 under the tree or shrub
to minimize disruption of the root ball while the rear
portion of basket 20 lifts up the root ball slightly as it
passes underneath it. In the post-digging position, the
15 basket 20 of the basketed U-blade 18 supports the root ball
of the tree or shrub which can then be easily transported
to be wrapped in burlap or placed in another location for
planting.
20 It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art
that the mini shrub spader of this invention is
distinguished by its versatility, simplicity, and
efficiency. Moreover, the design of the mini shrub spader
precludes the need for manual labour and a separate device
to transport the unearthed tree from the location at which
it was unearthed.
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Furthermore, it will be understood that the hydraulic
cylinders, hydraulic systems, etc. used throughout this
invention may be of any desired design according to the
knowledge of those skilled in the art and operate in
conventional fashion to achieve the intended result.
Indeed, the hydraulic cylinders may be replaced with
electric or pneumatic equipment, if so desired.
Although the present invention has been described in
detail with reference to one preferred embodiment, it will
be clearly understood that this is by way of illustration
only. Many variations and alternative embodiments of the
invention will now be apparent to those skilled in the art,
and are not to be excluded from the scope of the invention,
which is to be determined only by the appended claims, as
set forth below.
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